How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua
Anne Lamot’s style of writing a first draft is to flush out all her thoughts about the subject. This creates a lot of material that she can later expand on or remove. This is vastly different from George Dila’s version of the first draft which is to revise and rewrite until the draft reached the state of being good. I feel like I don’t really match either style of writing. I don’t produce enough opinions or thoughts to be able to have the style that Lamot uses, but I also don’t have Dila’s refusal to have a poorly written first draft. I am somewhere in between there styles of writing. I would frequently be staring at blank pieces of paper due to being unsure where to start. This first sentence would take about the same amount of time as one of my body paragraphs. This is what makes me similiar to Dila, who stated “In fact, I can’t even allow myself to write a shitty first sentence,” but the similarities end there. I am also similar to Dila in that I am fine with writing a bad first draft. I am just simply unable to write anything that comes to my head about the topic because nothing comes to my head. This makes me unable to have Lmaot’s style. An example of this is when I was writing my common application essay, I after expanding on my thoughts was at a meager 350 words compared to the 650 limit. This is also evident in my hate of papers with a required length due to me running out of good content to write about and being forced to fill my paper with bad content.
As agreed by both authors, drafts are a necessity for making a great piece of literature no matter what it is. However, there is a disagreement in terms of what method of using the drafts is the best one. Anne Lamott, the author of the Shitty First Draft states that the best way to create the draft is to spit the words out and edit after you finish by revising the whole thing and changing the parts dramatically. However, George Dila, the author of Rethinking the Shitty First Draft, disagrees with her point of view and says that there are other ways to make the first draft, although he also uses the pouring the words out method, he revises while writing the first draft so nothing has to be changed drastically when moving on to the second draft. These two methods are similar, however, they are used by different people.
I, for example, use the Dila’s way. Whenever I write an essay, I have specific points that are supposed to be addressed so I revise my essay and make it fit depending on how my ideas are displayed. I pour the words out in my head and then use the information to make sentences which connect to the paragraph and the general idea of the essay. However, a problem for me is not messing my ideas up, which can be dividing the who essay in sections and then put it altogether, which is Lamott’s method. Personally, I like to edit my work as I am working on it, however, it also helps to just get down what you want to say and work around it to create an essay. Most of the writers use the “Shitty first draft” because it creates a visual representation on paper of the information that could later be organized and edited to make a perfect essay. This is a very important technique, however, the other method seems more efficient and more thought out. However, both of the methods could be combined if needed.
Let’s face it, for most people, writer’s block is unavoidable and something that everyone struggles with. As J.K. Rowling once said “The wonderful thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting. The terrifying thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting.”
As Anne Lammot stated, the only way to write is to start with a “shitty draft” without revising until the end and “let it pour all out and then let it romp all over the place.” Unlike Lammot, however, George Dila stated that he “cannot even allow myself to write a shitty first sentence, let alone immediately follow the first with another few hundred shitty sentences.”. Dila believes that you should obsessively revise your writing and that you shouldn’t allow yourself to write shitty sentences. I believe one cannot simply write a good paper without either creating an outline of their ideas or writing a draft. I agree with Dila because I believe that you can turn your first draft into a great final work product after rewriting it multiple times. Moreover, a great finished work-product is something that doesn’t occur in one day- it takes time.
While writing, I can say with utmost certainty that I am not a perfectionist and never will be but I believe one cannot simply write a good paper when from the start writing something that’s unfulfilling and not to your fullest potential. The foundation of any paper is the writer’s mind and the writer should have the mindset that this paper will be somewhat perfect as perfection is subjective. Personally, If I have writer’s block then I start with the body first and just let my fingertips lead the way. Eventually, after that, I come back and write an introduction that complements the rest of the paper.
In “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft”, George Dilla starts with a sentence that has exactly opposite view from Anne Lamott: “I do not write shitty first drafts.” He personally strongly refuses to write shitty first draft and permissions to write badly. He describes himself as “a ruthless reviser and an eager rewriter.” He gives us an example on how he writes the opening of a short story. He cannot allow himself to start with an unperfect opening sentence so he revises again and again until satisfaction. The story might be revised hundreds of times when the first draft is finished.
In contrast with George Dilla, Anne Lamott approaches first drafts without obsessively revising as she writes. She allows herself to start with anything, which may be terrible at the first but may become good or even terrific later on. She likes to pour out all the ideas into the first drafts. Because of that, her first drafts are always much much longer than the second and third drafts. She would take out the most interesting ideas, sentences, or everything she could from the first draft and start a new, second draft.
My strategy for drafting an essay is a combination of these two approaches. When I write a first draft, I cannot accept to start the essay with a terrible opening sentence but I can allow myself to start a terrible body paragraph. I always think the opening is the most important and the hardest to write because it determines the whole view and tone of the essay. I will revise it again and again until I can accept at a certain point. Then, I will allow myself to put all the ideas and sentences that pop up in my mind to be shown up in the first draft and revise them in the later drafts.
Anne Lamott and George Dila are both writers yet have different writing methods. Anne Lamott prefers to get all her ideas down on paper whether she thinks she’ll keep it or not. In “Shitty First Drafts” she states how “no one is going to see and that you can shape it later.” With this mindset, Lamott writes shitty drafts which she then revises and turns it into a final draft. On the other hand, George Dila does the opposite. Instead of writing shitty drafts, he writes a decent draft. In “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft” he states ” I worked on the opening sentence for a couple of writing sessions, trying different strategies, different approaches. Through trial and error, the sentence suddenly came together.” Unlike Lamott, Dila prefers to revise as he writes his first draft which will most likely result in a decent draft.
My writing method is similar to George Dila’s method. I personally don’t like to write shitty first drafts because of my terrible time management, my first draft is usually the final draft. Thus I try to make the first draft as perfect as it can be, revising every little mistake I see on the way and making sure that the sentence are how I want them to be. I have tried using Anne Lamott’s method before and it did not turn out great. A simple two page essay about famous Supreme Court cases turned out into a 5 page essay about this television show that my siblings watch. Nothing on that draft was related to those Supreme Court cases which was a waste of time. Through trial and error, I found Dila’s method to be most beneficial for me.
George Dila’s approach differs greatly from Anne Lamott’s. He finds value in a strong foundation and the first draft represents the “foundation” of a would-be essay or novel. However, Lamott believes that it is better to begin writing by putting everything in her mind on paper and organizing it all alter. Although these two writers are different in their approach to writing, neither is wrong. Their difference stems from how they view writing. George Dila in his article states that writing is like building a house. Whereas, Lamott views writing more like cooking and the first draft is similar to going shopping and filling the basket with groceries.
My writing approach is more similar to George Dila in that I find it important to revise each and every sentence because every sentence comes from the previous sentence. But, more important than that in writing is the thesis. With a good thesis, a good essay can be written. I also agree with Dila in that writing is similar to building a house. An essay requires a good foundation which is the thesis. After that, the body and the conclusion can be rewritten over and over again as long as the strong foundation exists. I disagree with Lamott’s method and her descriptions of first drafts being “shitty”. Calling it a “shitty first draft” means I am already starting the essay on a bad route. I, personally, do not strive to do anything shitty, first drafts included. Thus, if I think a part of my essay is bad then I will rewrite it and do better.
An example of how I implement Dila’s approach to writing is demonstrated through my process writing my personal statement. I was able to write my personal statement in a mere three sessions but the first of those three took me more than six hours. I sat down and tried to tell my story but, after rereading every sentence I knew that I could do better. So I kept rewriting as I went and by the time I was done with my first draft it was far from “shitty”. After I was done with my first draft, I chose not to touch it or even look at it for two weeks then I went back and looked for ways to improve my writing. My final draft only involved me fixing grammatical errors or looking through the dictionary for more accurate words. Overall, my essay came out well and I am sure that someone using Lamott’s approach has written a personal statement equally well because writing is an art form and each and every writer has their preferred style.
The first draft is the most important, and arguably the most difficult step when it comes to writing an essay. Since it is such a vital step in the process, writers have come up with numerous ways to tackle it. Dila and Lamott are writers that have contrasting views when it comes to what a first draft should look like. Lamott believes that, “The first draft is a child draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place”. Lamott advocates for the idea that the in the first draft, your ideas do not have to make sense. She believes that you should just get all of your ideas on paper, no matter how out of place or bad you think they are. In contrast, Dila summarizes his point by saying, “When I have completed what some might call the first draft of the story, it will have already been revised hundreds of times. It will be a competent story at this point, but still open to some revision, to polishing, to “tinkering”. But it will not be shitty. It will not be a mess”. Dila believes in the idea that a first draft should be polished and should already have clear and coherent ideas that do not require much change in the transformation to the final esssay.
I resonate more with Dila’s perspective on first drafts because I believe that good drafts lead to better essays. I understand what Lamott is saying, but when converting a “shitty” first draft into an essay, there are lots of gaps to fill in order to meet the requirements for the paper. This is the main difference between making a “shitty” first draft and a “fine” first draft. In a “fine” first draft, the points are already specific and clear, so the writer can put all of his or her time into refining the writing and making it higher quality. In a “shitty” first draft, the points are not clearly made yet and the analysis needs lots of work. Instead of editing a specific and clear draft, writers of “shitty” drafts first have to make their argument. This is not a good idea because there can be many mistakes found as they are attempting to craft their argument and the paper will turn more into a second draft than a final essay. In an ideal world, all of my drafts would be specific “fine” drafts with a strong base. However, sometimes I end up going with Lamotts approach as a result of my laziness.
Many writers don’t come up with their stories, poems and papers in one shot, its revised many times before its published. In the article “Rethinking the shitty draft” there are ways two ways in which someone can end up with their final product. Firstly,Anne Lamott puts up a good point that writing down what ever comes to mind in the first draft and revising it later to make it perfect, however, I feel that I’m more of a George Dila person. George mentions that “When I have completed what some might call the first draft of the story, it will have already been revised a hundred times”. He makes sure his ideas/thoughts aren’t just any ideas that comes to mind but are revised and carefully picked to go into his draft. His method stands out more towards me because in Every essay guidelines, teachers ask for drafts a week or two ahead.For me once I start to write my draft I just get into it and if I stop I lose that motivation. Part of that has to do with my laziness but once I start I make sure to make it the best so its basically my final paper. Thus when I get my paper revised from my classmates or teacher there is less work to be done to my paper and that I have a week to basically relax and just make minor changes to the paper. I’ve also noticed that when I revise papers for friends that use Anne’s method in writing the first draft its sort of hard to understand their paper. Their writing isn’t smooth and its all over the place so the person revising it can’t do their job since the paper is hard to understand. But at the end of the day both methods are ways to which someone or another might end up with their final result.
